It is difficult to ensure that education is continued appropriately in every case, especially where, exceptionally, an individual of school age is remanded to a prison. On such occasions, arrangements depend on the stage reached in the individual's education and the period of the remand. At remand centres it is the aim to provide daytime classes. This has been achieved at all but two, where regular arrangements will be made as soon as fulltime teachers can be appointed.

It is the Government's policy to phase out remands of juveniles to prison department establishments under unruly certificates as soon as adequate alternative secure accommodation is available within the local authority community homes system. As I told the House on 2nd May—[Vol. 891, c. 979–88]—we should like to make a start by phasing out the remands under unruly certificates of girls aged 14, and this possibility is being urgently examined.
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We cannot yet say when it will be possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to amend the Children and Young Persons Act to provide that no children between the age of 14 and 16 years will be committed to prison establishments under any circumstances; and, if not, why not.

No. The Act already makes provision for ending the use of borstal training and detention centres for persons under 17, but this can only be done when suitable alternative facilities are available in the local authority system. The Act also empowers the Secretary of State to raise by order the minimum age at which young people can be remanded to prison department establishments under unruly certificates, and we have already made clear our desire to phase out such remands.